Bishops' approval ratings decline

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Approval ratings for America's Roman Catholic bishops have declined over the last 18 months, likely over how they handled priests who sexually abused children, a new survey has found.

The poll of U.S. Catholics released May 9 found 59 percent strongly or somewhat agreed that the prelates were doing a good job leading the church, compared with 83 percent in the fall of 2001.

Most respondents to the survey--conducted by Le Moyne College, a Jesuit school in Syracuse, N.Y., and the research firm Zogby International--wanted the pope to discipline bishops who failed to remove offenders from church work.

Regarding the pope, more than 80 percent of respondents gave him high marks for job performance. Fifty-three percent agreed with his opposition to the U.S.-led war on Iraq.